The Lion King: A Father's Retribution
by Dreaming18
Summary: Six Months on and the Pride Lands has become a very different place to what it once was. The newly returned Prince Kopa refuses to become accustomed to the ways of the kingdom, however a secret from his past threatens to destroy all that he holds dear.
1. Chapter 1

**Book 2  
**

**The Lion King: A Father's Retribution  
**

**Chapter 1**

_Kopa's heart was racing, he was exhausted. Things had happened so fast but now, here he was faced with an impossible decision. In front of him lay a young lion about his age. The lions golden fur was damp and discoloured from his wounds. The redness sank into his fur like a drop of rain landing on the ground. His face was scared, claw marks covered him and his mane was scruffy. He watched as the lion slowly breathed in and out. He didn't have much energy in him._

_"Kill me." the lion begged, striking him off guard. "Please, I'm as good as dead after what's been done." he said._

_"No, I won't take your life, I can't." Kopa refused, shaking his head violently._

_"Just do it, I can't live with the shame and disappointment I've brought my father." the lion whimpered, staring straight at Kopa._

_Kopa said nothing as he stared deep into the lions eyes. How could he do such a thing to someone who's been through so much pain? It's not right, he can't do it. However, as he continued to stare into the lions eyes he could see the pain he was in, feel the pain he was. He could feel the suffering this lion had endured and he couldn't stare at it any longer._

_"Ok, I'll do it." he said._

_The lion closed his eyes as Kopa bit into the lions neck..._

Kopa woke with a fright. He only just managed to stop himself from screaming when he realised where he was. His heart was pounding out of his chest and he was breathing rapidly. He looked around the den and slowly started to calm down.

"It was just a dream." he whispered to himself, trying to calm his breathing. That memory hasn't plagued him for a long a time, but with everything that's happened lately it's not surprising the one memory he's tried to suppress has come back to haunt him.

Once his breathing had returned to normal, his heart beat slowed down and he began to relax. He looked beside him and noticed Vitani there, still asleep. It's a miracle he didn't wake her up. The rest of his family was still asleep as well, including Mheetu who'd rolled onto his back and started to snore. Kopa gently smiled at them.

Noticing the light creeping in from outside, Kopa carefully stood up and left the den. As he walked up onto the throne the cool morning air helped sooth and calm him. Sitting down he watched the horizon over the Pride Lands. He and his father apparently did this a lot when he was young, but even if they did, he couldn't remember it. There's a lot of things he still can't remember but he figures it'll only come back to him with time.

He couldn't believe how much had changed in the past six months. There was a time where he didn't know who he was and he lived a life of freedom or 'Hakuna Matata', as Timon and Pumbaa would call it. But now he knows who he is and his life has changed dramatically.

"Got you uncle Kopa!" shouted Kopa's young nephew Amani as he pounced on top of him. Kopa yelled out, surprised by his appearance. After the bad dream he'd just had he's still a bit frigid. He walked around in a circle until he spotted Amani on his back.

"I frightened you didn't I?" Amani laughed, climbing onto Kopa's head.

"Don't do that Amani, you nearly made me jump out of my fur." Kopa replied sighing. He calmly breathed in and out, relaxing his tense muscles.

The young cub giggled and jumped back onto the ground. He gazed up at Kopa, admiration in his eyes. Amani was Kiara and Kovu's two and half month old son. He'd inherited his father's fur colour but thanks to Kiara it was a slightly lighter shade. He had a small dark brown tuft of fur on his head and his eyes were the same shade as Kiara's. His underbelly fur was light brown and it contrasted well with his main fur colour. They'd named him Amani in honour of Kopa and the peace he'd brought the Pride Lands. Since Amani meant peace, they thought it was a fitting name. However, Amani himself was not a peaceful cub.

"What are you doing up this early?" Kopa asked.

"Well I was already awake when I saw you leave. I followed you and decided to surprise you." the cub giggled.

"You shouldn't be so mischievous, it could get you into a lot of trouble one day." Kopa advised. Amani nodded and as always, listened to Kopa's recommendation.

Turning away, Kopa went to leave. This was an ideal opportunity for him to hunt and let off some steam. As he walked away he noticed Amani was following him, his beady little eyes staring up at him eagerly.

"Where are you going uncle Kopa?" asked Amani, his tail swishing side to side with excitement.

"Nowhere but I'll be back later. You stay here, oh and if grandpa Simba asks where I am, tell him you haven't seen me ok?" he reminded his nephew.

"Ok." Amani said as he watched Kopa leave Pride Rock. The young cub stared after his uncle, wishing he could go with him.

* * *

It was early afternoon and Kopa's disappearance had been noted by the entire pride. After discovering his son's absence this morning Simba had decided to let it go but as the afternoon began to approach he was getting increasingly concerned. Spending half the day away from Pride Rock isn't something Simba wants him doing.

Walking up to a group of lionesses that afternoon Simba asked "Where is my son?"

"We're not sure no one's seen him this morning." replied one of the lionesses. "Maybe he went for a walk?" she suggested.

"I doubt it." Simba sighed. He turned around and noticed his grandson standing below him. "Oh Amani I don't suppose you've seen your uncle today?" he wondered.

"No." Amani said with a cheeky grin on his face.

"Are you sure?" Simba asked thinking he was rather quick to come to that conclusion.

"Yeah, I haven't seen him." he giggled, turning to leave, however he soon found himself overcast with darkness and looked up to see both his parents standing in front of him. They didn't look particularly happy, mainly because they knew Amani looked up to Kopa and would lie for him if he wanted.

"Amani tell the truth." Kiara said, sternly. "I'm your mother, I know when you're lying." she mentioned, frowning.

"Honestly I haven't seen him." he said, glancing from his mother to his father.

"Amani, where's Kopa?" Kovu asked.

Amani tried to convince them again but the sight of his parents' frowns was too intimidating for him, so he gave in.

"He went out this morning but he didn't tell me where he was going." Amani revealed, bowing his head.

Simba rolled his eyes and groaned. He knew exactly what Kopa was doing. He was out hunting, something he did a lot of these days. Resolving to go out and find him, Simba went to leave, but not before Kiara gave her father some words of warning.

"Father, try not to be too hard on him. He's still finding it difficult adjusting to all this." she said softly.

"I know." Simba said, acknowledging her words. With that he left, just as Kiara was about to give Amani a very serious talking to about his lying.

* * *

Kopa was walking through the long grass after a successful morning hunt. While releasing his emotions from this morning he'd also managed to fill himself up and now, all he wanted to do was lie down and relax. Looking at Pride Rock in the distance, he was reminded that his father wasn't so keen on him hunting all the time. According to him it takes up too much of his time, time he should spend learning about the ways of the kingdom.

At that moment, he remembered his life as Ayari, the fearless free lion who could do anything he wanted. He missed the simplicity of his old life but it was not the life he was destined for, unfortunately. Six months ago he managed to save his family and Pride Rock from the corrupt claws of Jitu and Zira. Finding out who he was, being able to reunite with a family he never knew he had, had changed his life in more ways than one. Everyone else seemed to move on pretty quickly after that event, even Kovu and Vitani who'd lost both their parents. For him it had been different, moving on wasn't so easy.

He knew that returning as Prince Kopa would be difficult but not this difficult. He hasn't gotten used to living that kind of lifestyle yet. Sighing, he calmed himself down. He spotted a lone antelope up ahead and decided to go for it. Crouching low he slowly crept forward, sneaking up behind it. As he carefully stalked the creature it looked up, thinking it'd heard something. Kopa stopped and waited for the antelope to resume eating the grass. After a few seconds it did and Kopa took that as his chance to strike. He prepared himself to pounce but all of a sudden the antelope ran, ruining his chance.

"Kopa!" Simba exclaimed, sounding angry. Kopa grunted the moment he heard his name. He could sense his father was about to give him another one of his lecture's, one which he wasn't in the mood for right now.

"Oh great." he whispered, turning round to face his father. The antelope had fled the moment Simba arrived and Kopa sighed in annoyance. "I could've got that if you hadn't showed up." he said.

"You aren't even supposed to be hunting. Your mother and Kiara are in charge of that now." Simba said with a frown. He understood his sons need to let off steam and he was happy to give him the time to do that, but it's been six months.

"I know, but c'mon Kiara wouldn't even be hunting if it wasn't for me." Kopa mentioned. Ever since Kiara's first successful hunt during the battle for Pride Rock, she's become very confident in her hunting. Nala still leads the hunting party but she's happy to let Kiara take over anytime she wants.

Simba said nothing and continued to frown at his son.

"That's not what this is about. I understand this is what you do but now that you're back I need to teach you the ways of the kingdom. You need to be prepared for when you take over as-"but Kopa stopped him right there.

Being King is something he's definately not ready for. They've talked about this before and Kiara and Kovu said they were more than happy to stay on as next in line for the throne of Pride Rock.

"Dad we've talked about this, I'm not going to be king." Kopa reminded his father, sternly.

"I wish you would tell me why."Simba replied.

Kopa stared at his father and said nothing. He sighed and began to walk back to Pride Rock. Even if he told him the reason why Simba wouldn't understand anyway. He wants to reconnect with his father, with his family, but how can he when they barely know him and know what he's been through.

* * *

Meanwhile, a happy and cheerful Rafiki was in his baobab tree, humming happily to himself. He was going over a picture of the young cub Amani, bouncing up and down to the rhythm of his hum.

"Amani, what a fitting name." he commented. "A cub born out of peace." he chuckled. Realising he was out of crushed berries, Rafiki turned around to crush the next batch. He began to crush them, still humming happily to himself until he heard rustling in the leaves.

He stopped, eyeing up the leaves suspiciously. Grabbing his stick he went to investigate the disturbance. Walking over to the leaves, he attacked them with his stick. Nothing was there. Shaking his head Rafiki went back to what he was doing.

"Rafiki must be going crazy in his old age." the mandrill commented. He began to crush the berries again when he heard more rustling behind him. "Nothing's there Rafiki." he said as silence resumed. As he turned his head and went back to what he was doing he was disturbed by a very loud noise.

"Boo!" someone shouted and Rafiki yelled out in fright falling head first into the bowel of squashed berries. He heard maniacal laughter as he pulled his head out of the bowel and wiped the splattered berries off his face. There, standing before him was his nephew Nefu.

"Look at your face uncle Rafiki!" Nefu said, rolling around in a fit of laughter. Rafiki said nothing as he wiped the berries away from his eyes. "I got you good!" he said, pointing at Rafiki's berry covered face.

His young nephew, Nefu was a young mandrill with bright colours. His fur was different to Rafiki's as it bore more of a rich chocolate brown colour. His underbelly fur was also that shade, but darker. His hair was braided into short stump dreadlocks and it bore a cinnamon colour. The mandrill wore a cheeky smile as Rafiki manged to wipe the last of the berries off his face.

"It's been too long uncle Rafiki." laughed Nefu. Rafiki frowned, dusting off the last of the berries. He wondered what his nephew was doing so far from Grass Walls. "Nice to see you're still living in the same old tree."

"Nefu, Rafiki wants to know what you're doing here?" Rafiki demanded, his arms folded.

"No reason, just thought I'd come and visit my favourite uncle." Nefu said, swinging from branch to branch around Rafiki's tree.

"How long are you planning to stay?" Rafiki asked, his arms still folded and his eyes fixed on Nefu.

"Oh not very long why, you worried about me embarrassing you uncle Rafiki?" he giggled, hanging from a branch upside down. Embarrassing however, was not the word Rafiki would have used.

"You can stay, but on two conditions." Rafiki said as Nefu continued to swing playfully from branch to branch. "You can't misbehave and you have to help out whenever Rafiki asks you." he said.

"Alright, I promise." Nefu said but he hadn't really been listening. He fell down in front of Rafiki, but instead of showing signs of pain the young mandrill just laughed.

Rafiki sighed and shook his head at this nephew's behaviour. Turning around he spotted a dark figure on the ground below. It looked like a lion but he couldn't be sure. He climbed up onto a branch to have a better look, but he was distracted when Nefu knocked over his bowel of uncrushed berries.

"Nefu what did Rafiki just say?" Rafiki questioned irritably. He soon proceeded to scold his nephew who, once again didn't really listen. It was going to be a long few days for Rafiki.

* * *

Kopa returned to Pride Rock with Simba in tow. Father and son hadn't spoken much on the way back and Kopa wasn't planning to talk to him now either. Seeing his sons reluctance to let him in Simba walked off, leaving him alone. Noticing his uncle's return, Amani ran straight over to him, a solemn look on his face.

"Uncle Kopa, I'm sorry I told grandpa Simba where you were. Mother made me." he apologized, but Kopa didn't understand why he was so upset about it.

"Amani don't worry, I knew he'd find out anyway." Kopa reassured the young cub. Once he realised Kopa wasn't angry with him the cheeky smile he wore soon returned. However, Kiara and Kovu soon turned up and Kopa knew Kiara wouldn't be happy with him. This isn't the first time he's asked Amani to lie for him.

"Come on you." Kiara said, picking Amani up by the scruff off his neck and taking him away. She said nothing to Kopa but gave him a dirty look as she left with her son. Kopa was surprised and relieved, he half expected his sister would pin him to the ground and tell him to stop leading her son astray. But her silence was just as dangerous.

"What have I done wrong now?" he asked rhetorically. Kovu chuckled beside him.

"Nothing, but we'd appreciate it if you'd stop using Amani to do your dirty work." he said.

"I hardly think you can call it dirty, I was just going on a hunt." he said."Besides, your son adores me so he would've done it even if I hadn't asked him to." Kopa explained.

"We know." Kovu told him. "But still, it'll keep Kiara off your back." Kovu advised.

"Maybe." he said, walking off. "I've already got dad on my back, I could do without Kiara too." he said, glancing around, trying to find Vitani. "Don't suppose you know where your sister is do you?" he wondered.

"She wanted to talk to Rafiki about something." Kovu replied, but he returned their conversation to the previous topic. "Why's Simba on your back?" he asked, following after Kopa.

"He keeps trying to push me to learn the ways of the kingdom and I keep reminding him that you and Kiara are taking over after him, not me." he said.

Kovu stopped. He wondered if this was the right time to tell him. He and Kiara had been discussing it a lot lately but both were nervous about telling Kopa. He hasn't exactly been in the best of moods lately.

"Kovu are you ok?" Kopa asked, seeing Kovu's blank expression.

"Yeah I'm fine." he said. "But we should talk."

* * *

Beyond the Pride Lands and the location of Tojo's pride, there sits another pride of lions. They control a vast area of land that is nourished by a long winding river. This pride is called the River Pride. They live in a lush area of grassland surrounded by a few trees and bushes. In the middle of the pride sits a large tree, similar to Rafiki's baobab tree but much bigger. At the bottom of the tree the King of that Pride, sat atop a rock, complaining about something that his second in command was all too used to hearing.

"Six months Sikio, I've left prince Kopa alone for six months. It was longer than I'd intended." he said. The lion brushed his thick black mane away from his eyes as he wallowed in his own annoyance.

"Well your majesty, perhaps now is the time to begin your revenge. It has been six months after all. We've gained enough intel to come up with a different strategy." Sikio explained, sitting beside him.

"I know but after waiting so long and putting so much effort into this, I don't want to see it all go to waste." he said. Sikio rolled his eyes. He's had to listen to this ever since they found out the lion they wanted was the prince of the Pride Lands.

"Do you not owe it to your son your majesty?" Sikio questioned him with a slight grin. "He needs to be avenged, justice needs to be served. Makini wouldn't want you to let the lion responsible for his death get away with it." he said, trying to persuade him.

"I know, but you see back then it would've been much easier to just kill him and be done with it. Back then he had no idea who he was but now, now that he's a prince we need to tread carefully. It will take time but you're right Sikio." and Sikio grinned. "My son wouldn't want me to let the lion responsible for his death get away with hit." finding his resolve, the lion climbed on top of a tall mound to address the members of his pride.

Sikio stood beside his king as the pride awaited his speech.

"As you all know I've been tracking down my sons attacker for over a year now. Several months ago I found him but he was not who I originally thought he was so I returned to rethink my plan. But now the time has come for me to finally avenge my son's death. Hodari!" he called out.

A pale furred lion with a dark brown mane stepped forward, his eyes full of pleasure.

"Yes, your majesty?" Hodari said, bowing his head.

"You will be in charge while I am gone. When I return I will have been successful and my son can finally get the justice he deserved!" the lion roared. Sikio joined in and soon the whole pride was roaring with encouragement for their king. While they were all preoccupied, none of them noticed the cunning smile Hodari wore on his face. He watched on with glee, finally getting what he wanted, Kucha out of the way.

Kucha and Sikio wasted no time in leaving. It was just the two of them however, since a big party would draw too much attention to them and that's not what they wanted if this plan of revenge was going to work. As they began their journey Sikio noticed the look of determination on Kucha's face.

"Are you ready for this your majesty?" he wondered.

"I've been ready for this since the day I watched him kill my son." Kucha growled. "I will not rest until prince Kopa has felt the same pain and despair that I felt when I lost my son. I will take everything he cares about away from him and then when he has lost everything I will kill him." he said looking forward to that moment with every breath in his body.

Prince Kopa was going to pay the ultimate price.

* * *

As the afternoon slowly came to an end Simba sat outside the den of Pride Rock, talking with Nala about Kopa's recent behaviour. It's something that's been worrying him recently and today only confirmed that he was right to worry.

"It's been six months since our son returned and I feel just as close to him as I was when he came home." Simba said with a heavy sigh. "Nothing's changed between us."

"Oh Simba something like this will take time." Nala said, comforting him. She could see the pain in his expression and she understood what he was feeling. Reconnecting with Kopa was going to be hard for them both but it's going to be harder for Simba considering their broken bond and his expectations of Kopa. "Kopa's been through a lot and returning to a life he can't remember is going to be difficult for him to do."

"I know but-"

"Let our son deal with it in his own way." she said, cutting him off. "When he's ready you will know." she explained, encouraging him to accept that this will take time.

"You're right, I'll give him the space he needs." Simba said, smiling half heartedly. They were about to head into the den when all of a sudden they heard raised voices coming from the front of Pride Rock. They glanced at each other with a frown before they went to investigate the commotion. Kiara had heard it too and the three lions arrived to find Kopa and Kovu arguing about something and Kopa looked furious.

"You and Kiara both agreed that you would stay on as heirs of pride rock." Kopa complained, not happy, not happy at all. The anger was radiating off him but Kovu had expected this.

"I know, but we've been talking about it lately and we don't think it's right to rob you of your birth right. You are the eldest, therefore you're the one who should be king." Kovu explained, trying to reason with him. They both noticed the appearance of Simba, Nala and Kiara, but Kopa didn't care, he wanted them to hear this.

"I've told you all before, I'm not ready for something like that. I've been back six months and you're all trying to push me into something I don't want!" he shouted.

"Kopa, we're not trying to push you into anything-"Kiara said, but Kopa cut over her.

"No, none of you understand how hard this is for me, none of you." he said, looking over at his family. After a few brief seconds of silence Kopa left Pride Rock in a fit of rage.

"Kopa wait, where are you going?" Simba called out, going after his son. Nala stepped in front of him and stopped him in his tracks.

"Simba let him go. He'll come back when he's calmed down, he's just needs some time." she reminded him.

Simba sighed, but stayed at Pride Rock. He turned to his right and watched Kopa sprint away from Pride Rock. As he watched him leave he realised he didn't know who his son was at all.

* * *

**I'm back with the first Chapter of my Second Lion King Story. Hope you enjoyed it :)**

**Just thought I'd share with you the meanings of some of the names mentioned in this chapter.**

**Amani (Peace)**

**Kucha (Claw or Darkness)**

**Sikio (Ear)**

**Makini (Dignity)**

**Hodari (Clever)**

**-Nefu was Rafiki's Nephew who appeared in '_The Lion Kings Timon and Pumbaa' _and a comic called _'This Chore's a Bore'. _I like his character and thought that he'd fit in well with my plot for this story. Also I based his description off of his appearance description from the Lion King Wiki.**

**-Also thank you to those who voted on my poll and helped me decide on Kucha as a fitting name for my antagonist.**

**Dreaming18**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Lion King: A Father's Retribution**

**Chapter 2**

Unaware of the situation back at Pride Rock, Vitani was slowly making her way towards the location of Rafiki's tree. These past six months have been hard on everyone but things are finally starting to move towards normality. However, after the pride discovered Vitani had killed her own mother they all seemed to worry about her state of mind. They thought it was strange that she didn't show much grief or guilt over the event. Vitani had insisted she was fine countless times but it didn't stop the concerned looks. There was a reason behind her cool exterior but she knew none of them would fully understand.

After being trapped by her mother and her ideals for so long, being free of that felt great to her. She had taken a few days to grieve over what she'd done but in truth she was too relieved in the end. So much so, she didn't feel like she had anything to grieve over anymore. She was finally able to be with Kopa and that meant more to her. She still doesn't regret her decision and she never will. Her mother needed to die otherwise she never would've stopped trying to hurt Simba. Her mother's death was inevitable and it had freed a lot of lions from her wrath.

Once she'd arrived at Rafiki's tree, she walked right up to the trunk and called out to him.

"Rafiki, are you there?" she called, but there was no answer.

"Strange." she said, walking around to the other side. "Rafiki, it's Vitani." she called out again, but still no answer.

All of a sudden she heard movement. It wasn't long before she found herself face to face with a younger looking mandrill who wasn't Rafiki. The mandrill hung upside down with his arms folded.

"Rafiki's busy." he said and Vitani blinked.

"Excuse me, who are you?" she asked, frowning.

"I'm Nefu and I'm a relative of Rafiki's." he explained and Vitani was surprised. Rafiki had never mentioned any of his relatives before.

"Well you don't look like you're related." Vitani said, noticing his darker fur colour.

Nefu looked insulted. He was just about to say something when Rafiki finally showed up. He climbed down the tree and gave Nefu a disapproving look. It's only been one day and Nefu is already testing his limits.

"Nefu behave and get back inside the tree." Rafiki ordered. Nefu said nothing and did as his uncle asked. He kept his eyes on Vitani until he disappeared back into the tree. "You'll have to excuse Rafiki's nephew. He doesn't trust lions at all." Rafiki apologized, turning towards a stunned Vitani. "So, how are you?"

"I'm fine, but are you sure about my condition?" she asked, keeping her voice low. She didn't want to risk Rafiki's nephew overhearing this.

"Rafiki is never wrong when it comes to that sort of thing." Rafiki chuckled. "You don't have long now, they'll be here soon." he said.

"I know." Vitani said. "Wait a minute, did you say they?" she questioned, wondering if she'd heard him correctly.

Rafiki nodded and said "Yes, did Rafiki forget to mention that to you?" he wondered.

"You might have, yes." Vitani said, starting to panic.

"Oh well, it must've slipped Rafiki's mind." he chuckled. Vitani blinked. How could something like that have slipped his mind?

"Slipped your mind?" Vitani questioned, utterly speechless. "I haven't told Kopa any of this you know, he has no idea." she revealed, trying to explain the seriousness of her situation. "How am I supposed to break this to him now?" she wondered, pacing back and forth.

It's no secret to her that Kopa's been having trouble adjusting to his new life. She could see the pressure he was under and thats why, when she found out, she chose not tell him as to not add to his growing stress.

"Rafiki, how am I supposed to tell him something like this?" she asked, showing her more vulnerable side. She didn't do that very often. Vitani had always been a strong and skilled lioness, confident in who she was. But she had never been able to prepare herself for something like this.

"Well Rafiki would suggest telling him before they arrive." he said and Vitani just stared at him. Rafiki didn't seem to be taking this seriously at all, but what did she expect? This was Rafiki after all.

"I've been trying to tell him for the past month." she said, trying to keep her voice calm. "But I'm not sure he could handle something like this, not after everything he's been through." she said. "I'll try, but maybe it's best he doesn't know for now." she concluded.

Rafiki was about to protest but he could see Vitani had made up her mind.

"I should head back." she said, thanking Rafiki before turning and heading back towards Pride Rock.

Rafiki sighed as he watched her leave. He headed back into his tree, but not before he spotted the same dark figure from before. He climbed onto a tall branch overlooking the grassland. After studying the figure for a few seconds, he managed to conclude that the figure belonged to a lioness, however he didn't recognise her and retreated back into his tree.

* * *

The following morning, Kopa woke up to the bright light of the sun, the light that signified a new day. He'd stayed out all night because in his state he couldn't return home. He was too angry and he knew if he returned it'd just make things worse. He'd needed the time to himself anyway. He stood up and eventually decided to back. He was going to have to face his family sooner or later. He began to walk back, regretting everything he'd said to them. He knew he hadn't exactly handled the whole situation very well, but he couldn't help it. Everything just seems to be moving at a pace he's not quite ready for.

He just wants them to understand that he's not cut out to be king. But then again, in order for them to understand that he'd need to tell them the reason why. He shook his head, unable to even consider it. He was too afraid of what they might think of him, especially his father. The only one who could possibly understand was Mheetu because he was there that day. The two of them had tried to put it behind them and move on, but while Mheetu seemed to forget Kopa could not.

He sighed and continued walking. All of a sudden he heard voices, voices that weren't that far away. Following the rising sound he soon came across a dark furred lioness and she was with a lion, most likely a rogue. From what Kopa could gather he seemed to be harassing her.

"Come on princess I won't bite." the lion said, getting too close for comfort.

"Get away from me, I'm not interested and I'm not a princess." said the lioness trying to shake him off.

Kopa hid in the grass as he watched the scene before him. He stared at the lioness and for some reason she looked kind of familiar, like he'd seen her before.

"Please, how can you not be interested in this?" the lion wondered, stepping in front of the lioness and blocking her path. She frowned but it didn't look like the lion was going to leave her alone any time soon.

"Hey!" Kopa said, stepping out from behind the grass. Both the lion and lioness looked towards him, stunned. "Leave her alone." he said, placing himself in front of the lioness. He wasn't going to stand by and let this lion harass her like that.

"Oh yeah and who's going to make me?" the lion said in an arrogant tone. Suddenly, the lioness stepped in front of Kopa wearing a large frown.

"I appreciate the help but I can handle myself." she said with confidence. Kopa just ignored her.

"Do you know where you are?" Kopa questioned the lion.

"Nowhere important." the lion scoffed.

"Wrong answer. You're in the Pride Lands and unfortunately for you I just happen to be its prince." Kopa revealed, shocking the lioness beside him.

"Prince?" she whispered, slightly confused.

"I suggest you stop harassing her and get out of my sight before I make you." Kopa growled.

The lion, obviously not up to the challenge, gave up and left. He didn't come here looking for a fight, especially one with a prince. Kopa knew this and as the lion walked off he smiled with glee. He turned back to the lioness and asked if she was ok.

"I'm fine. Thanks I guess." she said, carefully studying him. "Are you really the prince of the pride lands?" she asked, not at all convinced.

"Yep, In the flesh." Kopa grinned and the lioness was shocked.

"I'm sorry, but you can't be." she said, shaking her head. "If you're the prince that would mean you're Simba's son and Simba's son died a long time ago." she said, completely sure of that fact.

Kopa looked at the lioness confused. How did she know all that?

"What's your name?" Kopa asked.

"I'm Timira." she said and the name didn't ring any bells. He didn't recognise her either, but something about her did seem familiar. "I lived in the Pride Lands with my family when I was young. When my father decided it was time to move on we left." she revealed. "It was shortly after Simba's son Kopa passed away."

Kopa couldn't take his eyes off of her. If she knew so much about him and his family they must've crossed paths when they were young, it was the only explanation. Only thing was, he couldn't remember anyone called Timira.

"Well I hate to break it to you but I am Kopa."

"That's impossible. He's dead." Timira said shaking her head.

"Yeah, about that, technically I never died. I was just lost." he explained. Timira couldn't quite believe what she was hearing. But the more her eyes studied him the more she came to believe he was telling the truth. His features were similar to Simba's but his mane was darker, more maroon in colour. What did it was his eyes, she remembered staring into those eyes many times when she was young.

"I don't believe it, Kopa?" she questioned, walking around him in a circle.

"Yeah that's me." he laughed nervously.

Timira stopped and suddenly a huge smile crossed her face. She let out a joyous laugh, jumping on top of him and knocking him to the ground. She buried her face in his mane and Kopa was utterly speechless. Awkward did not even begin to describe how he felt at that moment.

"I can't believe it's really you." she said. "We were children the last time I saw you." Kopa figured as much, however he still couldn't recall her. Most of his memories were still a little fuzzy.

"Oh really, we were?" he asked. She sensed the awkwardness in his tone and backed away, concerned. "What?" he said, noticing her expression.

"You don't remember me?" she said, disappointed.

"Uh no not really. I lost a lot of my memories when I fell into the Zuberi River. I've only just started to regain them." he explained. He could see the look of disappointment on Timira's face and struggled to find something to say.

"I see, well it's nice to know you're alive." she said with half a smile.

She turned to leave but feeling guilty, Kopa stopped her. He couldn't just let her leave after that revelation.

"Wait, you don't have to leave. Come back to Pride Rock with me." he proposed.

"No I couldn't possibly-"

"Please, you probably don't have a safe place to sleep. It would make me feel better knowing you were safe." he insisted.

"I don't want to be bother, besides how would Simba feel about it?" she wondered, walking closer towards him.

"I'm sure he won't mind." Kopa assured her, even though he wasn't completely sure how his father would feel.

"Well, if you insist. I can't exactly refuse and invitation from the prince." she giggled. She smiled as the two started to head towards Pride Rock, Kopa, keen to know what happened between them when they were young.

* * *

It was a glorious day at the River Pride, well, for Hodari at least. With Kucha and Sikio gone the pride now answered to him. He'd gotten exactly what he wanted. Now, all he needed to do was make sure Kucha didn't return. With Kucha out of the way the pride would be his for the taking. All he needed was for something to make that happen.

"Look at this land." he said to himself. He sat below the centre tree, lounging on the slanted rock that Kucha usually slept on. "It's nourished from the river and the life here is close to perfect. Kucha never really understood that. All this power and he refuses to use it." Hodari commented, staring out into the distance. Kucha never really appreciated his home. "Makini's death definately changed him. He hardly rules at all-"

"Uh Hodari?" asked his subordinate, Jicho. Hodari didn't like the interruption but all the same he allowed him to continue. "Forgive me for asking, but since Kucha's out of the way , shouldn't we start planning our next move?" the skinny lion wondered, not taking note of how loud his voice was.

"Keep your voice down Jicho!" whispered Hodari. "I don't need the entire pride learning of my plan." he growled.

"Sorry." Jicho whispered.

After checking that no one had heard them Hodari continued their conversation.

"In order to make sure Kucha doesn't return, I'll need to make a trip to the Pride Lands to keep an eye on his movements. You will come with me of course because let's face it, I can't do this alone." he said. He'd contemplated sending Jicho there alone but he wouldn't have been able to trust that he'd gotten the job done. "We will leave for the Pride Lands tomorrow morning. I'll make up an excuse to tell the pride. They'll be gullible enough to believe it." he whispered, looming over Jicho.

The lion nodded and Hodari grinned with pleasure. Soon the River Pride would be his and no one will be able to challenge him.

* * *

"Sire, I'm sure the prince will return soon." Zazu said. He watched as Simba paced back and forth atop the throne of Pride Rock. "There's no need to worry." Zazu tried to assure the king but considering the severity of the situation, it was going to take a lot to convince him.

"He's been gone all night Zazu. I just want to know that he's safe." Simba said. "Please, just find him." he ordered.

"Of course sire." Zazu said, unable to disobey him. Zazu turned around, ready to take flight, when all of a sudden, he noticed Kopa approaching and he wasn't alone. "Sire the prince has returned." he informed him.

Simba stopped his pacing and looked out onto the ground below. Relief swept over him when he saw Kopa approaching Pride Rock and he wasn't the only one. Vitani had come back from Rafiki's yesterday to find Kopa gone and his family on edge. They hadn't exactly given her the best explanation but she knew something had happened, she just hadn't expected him to stay out all night. Along with Simba and some others, she went down to meet him. The smile fell from her face the moment she saw Timira behind him.

"Hey, where have you been?" she asked, as Kopa and Timira made their way onto Pride Rock. "I didn't see you at all yesterday and then you stay out all night, why?" she asked, not giving Timira any attention. Kopa didn't answer as he was unsure of what to say to her. "Who is she and why have you brought her here?" Vitani asked, gesturing to Timira behind him.

"I'll explain everything in a minute Tani ok?" he said as they came to stand opposite a relieved Simba and Nala. Turning to his parents he introduced the lioness he'd brought with him. "Mother, father, this is Timira." he said and Timira stepped forward.

"We know." said Nala with a gentle smile. Kopa's eyes widened, as did Vitani's. He looked between Timira and his parents and something told him they'd met before. Timira was all too familiar with Simba and Nala, so she'd recognised them instantly. The only one who didn't know what was going on was Kopa.

"What are you talking about?" he wondered, hoping someone would give him an answer.

"It's been a long time Timira. How are you?" Simba asked, softly.

"I'm fine-"

"Hold on a minute." Kopa said, cutting over Timira. "Could someone explain this to me?" he asked, glancing at all three of them, waiting for one of them to respond.

Simba and Nala looked at each other, wondering if they should reveal this. Nala nodded and Simba spoke.

"Originally, when you were young, we'd intended for you and Timira to be betrothed." Simba revealed.

Kopa stood there utterly speechless, wondering if he'd heard them correctly. He looked at Timira who seemed to be avoiding his gaze. If that's true he can understand why she seemed so disappointed when he told her of his inability to remember her. Vitani on the other hand was trying to hide her displeasure, but to no avail. This is just what she needs right now, but she knew she had nothing to worry about, at least not at the moment.

"You were both young at the time but it seemed fitting considering how well things had worked out between me and your mother." Simba explained, glancing at Nala with a loving smile.

"I don't believe it." Kopa said, unable to say another word.

"You don't believe it." Vitani muttered, raising her eyebrows. She looked away and desperately tried not to feel irritated.

"I've only just returned to the Pride Lands." Timira said, breaking the awkward silence. "My parents passed away some months ago, so I came back here. The Pride Lands always felt like home to me." she explained.

"We're sorry to hear about your parents." Nala said. "They were good friends."

"Thank you." she nodded politely. "Kopa assured me you'd be ok with letting me stay for a while." she said, smiling over at him.

"Of course, please stay as long as you like." Simba said, noticing his sons silence.

Timira thanked him once again and the pride dispersed. Vitani walked off, hoping to calm herself down. While Timira went off with Nala to catch up, Simba and Kopa were left alone. Kopa hadn't moved since Simba had revealed his past history with Timira, a history he didn't remember.

"Kopa, can we talk?" Simba asked, looking hopeful.

"Not right now." Kopa said, bringing himself out of his daze.

"Please, it won't take long." Simba persisted, but Kopa backed off.

"Maybe later, I just need to be alone at the moment." Kopa said, walking away. After that shocking revelation about Timira, he really needed to find some peace and quiet.

"I see." Simba said, disappointed. He watched Kopa disappear from view and sighed. Kopa wasn't letting him in and he didn't know why. Mheetu, who'd seen how troubled Simba had been over the past few days, figured he needed someone to talk to. He was probably the best lion for the job anyway, considering the one responsible for his troubles was Kopa.

"Why won't he talk to me?" Simba asked himself as Mheetu came up and sat beside him. "I'm his father, I should know him better than anyone and yet he refuses to talk to me." he sighed.

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself Simba." Mheetu said. "Kopa just doesn't know how to approach you yet, but I can assure you he will in time." Mheetu explained. He could see how much this was affecting Simba, mainly because he himself was closer to Kopa than the king was. Simba's tried not to let it bother him but lately it's begun to show.

"You know you sound exactly like your sister." Simba commented. "She keeps telling me to give him time but the more time I give him the more I feel like I'm losing him and I can't lose him, not again." Simba admitted, bowing his head. "He's pushing me away and I can't do anything about it."

"Simba you are his father, I could never replace the bond you and Kopa share." Mheetu told him. He could see how much this was hurting him and if Kopa couldn't see it he needed to look harder.

"But you're the one who raised him Mheetu not me, not Nala. We missed out on the most important part of his life. You know him better than anyone, better than me. You're the only one he'll listen to, the only one he'll talk to."

"Maybe, but Simba you really will lose him if you don't at least try and talk to him." Mheetu warned.

Leaving Simba with something to think about, Mheetu went to find Kopa. If he couldn't see how much he was hurting his father than he'd have to make him see. Simba was right though, at the moment he's the only one Kopa's going to listen to. Hopefully.

* * *

Luckily, Tojo's pride did not share the same tense atmosphere. Their jungle paradise was indeed, paradise. Once a safe haven, these lands have now become a home to many. Those that lived here were the happiest they'd ever been, including the pride's leader Tojo, Simba's childhood friend. He was resting under a tree that morning, listening to the peaceful sound of silence around him. However that silence wasn't going to last long. Eventually Tojo was disturbed by two female cubs, his daughters Tamu and Khali.

"I got you dad!" Tamu giggled, pouncing onto his back.

"Come on daddy you promised you'd play with us today." Khali moaned tugging on the tip of his tail.

"Really? Did I?" Tojo said, acting like he didn't remember.

"Yes you did." Tamu said, biting his ear.

"I'm not sure-"

"Girls!" all of a sudden Tama appeared and Tojo was relieved. "Girls stop tormenting your father. That's my job." she laughed. Tamu and Khali stopped as soon as their mother appeared.

"But he did promise." Tamu said, Khali nodding in agreement.

"I know but there's something I need to discuss with your father at the moment. Don't worry I'll make sure he plays with you later." she said, nuzzling both her daughters before they eventually ran off to play somewhere else.

"Why is it that both our daughters inherited my looks but your personality?" Tojo wondered, getting to his feet.

Tama laughed and said "I don't know but I for one like it. They keep you busy all day which is more than I ever could." she reminded him.

Six months ago Tojo slept practically all day while Tama kept an eye on their growing pride. Now, they've received three new additions, their own daughters and Sukari, Chumvi and Kula's young son. The sound of children's laughter filled their pride and Tama and Tojo couldn't be more happy. Suddenly Tama turned to a more serious note.

"Koko was out all night again." she revealed. "I saw him come back this morning just before I went on my hunt. I asked him what he was doing but as usual he said nothing." she explained. Tojo sighed and rolled his eyes. Koko has been a part of their pride for six months now and he's only shown the slightest interest in redeeming himself.

"I don't know what more I can do for that kid. I've tried to help him but he never seems interested. The only thing I've managed to get him to do is protect the land from invading rogues. He hunts on occasion but it's only ever for himself and when I try to teach him the ways of a pride he's completely disinterested." Tojo said, exasperated.

When he told Simba he'd take the troubled kid into his pride he never thought it would be this hard. He wasn't allowed back into the Pride Lands unless he himself saw a true change in him. But he can't begin to make a change unless he lets someone in.  
**  
**"He spends all night away from the pride because he doesn't feel like he has the right to be close to us after what he did. He doesn't want to hurt us and I can understand that, but not letting anyone help him won't do himself any good."

"Maybe we should try harder. I know for one Boga isn't giving up on him." Tama said with a small smile. "She has a soft spot for him, I can tell. But like you said he refuses her help and pushes her away."

"I've noticed and I can tell Mega isn't too happy about it, Babu too. But Boga has a mind of her own, she doesn't care what they think." he chuckled. "Anyway we head out for the Pride Lands later today, maybe some alone time will do him good."

"I hope so." Tamu sighed and the pair followed after their young cubs.

Their conversation had been overheard by Koko who was hiding behind some trees. He wasn't surprised that Tojo seemed to be giving up on him. He thought it would be a lot easier if he just kept to himself. That way he doesn't have to hurt anybody again. He turned around, intending to leave but instead he found his face inches away from Boga's. She stood right behind him like she'd been waiting for him to turn around.

"Seriously why are you following me around?" he asked since this wasn't the first time.

"I'm worried about you. I haven't seen you a lot lately." she said, backing off. She could see how uncomfortable he was with their closeness.

"Well don't worry, I'm fine." he said sternly.

"You don't look fine." she replied with a frown.

"Why are you trying to help me?" he wondered. A part from Tojo and occasionally Tama, she was the only other one that seemed interested in trying to help him out.

"Simple," she said. "I know you have good in you, you just haven't been given the chance to show it yet."

She left and Koko walked off in the opposite direction, not sure what to make of her. Still, there was a part of him that welcomed her concern, but he didn't intend to show it any time soon.

* * *

At Pride Rock later that afternoon, Mheetu had endeavoured to talk to Kopa about the way he's been acting. He found him talking with Timira, asking about when they were young. She was laughing and Kopa looked a little embarrassed.

"Kopa?" Mheetu said, interrupting them. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"I'll leave you to it." Timira said, leaving the two lions alone. Kopa walked over to Mheetu wondering what this was about.

"What's going on Mheetu?" he asked.

"Kopa, has something been bothering you lately?" Mheetu begun, wanting to ease his way into this conversation. He didn't want to agitate Kopa too early.

"Why would you ask that?" Kopa wondered, confused.

"I've noticed the disturbances in your sleep this past week." Mheetu replied and Kopa rolled his eyes.

"Mheetu, honestly I'm fine. Nothing's wrong." Kopa said, desperately trying to reassure the older lion. Mheetu stared at him with a frown. He knew Kopa well enough to tell when he was lying and he was surprised Kopa himself had forgotten about this.

"Don't lie to me Kopa I raised you, I think I know when you're lying." Mheetu shot back, forcing Kopa to look at him now.

"Nothing is bothering me Mheetu. Have you considered that I might just be fed up of having everyone constantly on my back?" he asked. "No one seems to get it do they, even you?"

"We just want to help you Kopa but we can't do that when you keep pushing us away. Hiding from those who care about you won't make things easier. In the end you're just going to end up hurting them." Mheetu said, sternly. He could see from the look on Kopa's face that that had managed to resonate with him.

"That's not my intention." he muttered.

"Then talk to them Kopa, otherwise pretty soon you'll lose your family all over again." Kopa said nothing and quietly walked off. Mheetu watched him leave and hoped that for his own sake Kopa had listened to what he'd said, really listened. He passed Vitani as he walked away, giving her a concerned look as he left.

She'd overheard the conversation and had realised just how much Kopa wasn't telling her. She's worried about his state of mind, she has been for a while now. Seeing him like that only proved to her that she was right in keeping her secret from him. However, she vowed to keep an eye on him, hoping that he wouldn't become too distant in the process.

* * *

Kopa was in a dream. He knew he was dreaming because the atmosphere around him was too peaceful. He was walking through a field of lush grassland on a bright, calm day. He noticed the silence and even though he liked it, he had to wonder why it was so quiet outside. As he continued to walk he saw someone up ahead. He went to investigate, until he eventually caught up to who it was. Once he'd caught up to the figure, he realised it was a lion. The lion had stopped the moment he arrived. When he turned around Kopa's heart sank. The lion standing before him was the one he'd killed. He didn't look any different. He looked exactly how he'd looked the day Kopa had killed him, like he was frozen in time.

"No, no you're dead." Kopa said, backing off. However, the lion appeared behind him and Kopa jumped back, afraid.

"You can't escape me and you can't escape what you did to me." whispered the lion.

"Please, just leave me alone." Kopa begged, backing up more. The lion slowly moved towards him and the atmosphere around the two turned dark.

"I will never leave you alone. You think you can hide what you did from your family?" the lion wondered walking around Kopa in a circle.

"It's the only way to protect them." Kopa explained, carefully watching the lions movement.

"You mean it's the only way to protect yourself?" the lion corrected. "You chose to hide what you did because you are ashamed and afraid, afraid of what your family might think of you." the lion said. He soon began to laugh just as dark clouds encroached the sky and rain began to pour.

"I'm not-"

"Oh but you are. You're especially afraid of what your father might think, you don't want to disappoint him do you?" wondered the lion, tilting his head to the left. Kopa said nothing and just stared at the lion in silence. "That's why you refuse to become his heir. You don't feel like you deserve the right to rule after you robbed mine from me." the lion growled, turning aggressive.

"I had to, you begged me to." Kopa defended.

"I had no other choice after what had happened to me. But you're right, you don't deserve to be a king. You might look strong on the outside, but on the inside you are weak and fragile. You will disappoint you father regardless of whether you tell him or not."

"No." Kopa said as thunder shock the ground and rain raged down on him.

"Yes you're just one big disappointment!" the lion roared, pouncing on top of Kopa. The moment they collided everything went black...

* * *

Kopa woke up screaming. The moment he remembered where he was he realised he'd woken up most of the pride around him. That dream had been the worst yet. Tones of eyes were on him, all looking extremely concerned. Kopa tried to calm his breathing but the dream was still fresh in his mind.

"Kopa it's ok." Vitani said beside him. She'd heard everything. "You were just dreaming." she said.

"No it's not ok." Kopa said, getting to his feet.

"Son, please tell me what's wrong." Simba begged, coming forward.

"No, no." he said, shaking his head. "I'm sorry I woke you all up. I'll sleep outside tonight." he said, shocking the entire pride.

Kopa looked at his father before leaving the den. Simba could see his son was in pain, something was bothering him. But as usual he can't do anything to save him from that pain and that hurts him. He'd never expected to hear such cries from his son and that's what had shocked everyone that most, including himself.

Outside, Kopa settled down and he made sure he was a good distance from the den. If he has another dream like that, he doesn't want to wake everyone up again.

"This is for the best." he told himself. "It's the only way I can protect them." he said. But the voice of the lion still echoed in his head. _You're only doing this to protect yourself, not them. _Forcing the voice away Kopa eventually settled back down to sleep.

* * *

**Chapter 2 is up and I think it's the longest I've ever done! **

**This is has probably taken me an entire week to do, mainly because uni assignments had to come first. Anyway hope you like it!**

**Dreaming 18 :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**The Lion King: A Father's Retribution  
Chapter 3**

The following morning Kopa woke before the rest of the pride. The sun was out but it was still early. The events of the previous night slowly crawled back into his memory and he instantly felt ashamed. He acted without even thinking and he wouldn't blame them if they started to think he was crazy. He's starting to think that himself, but it was only torturing him further. He hasn't exactly had an easy life up until now. Even before he knew who he was, life wasn't good.

"It's making me go crazy." Kopa muttered to himself, standing up.

"You're not going crazy, I know that." said Timira, exiting the den and sitting beside him. Kopa was surprised to see her up this early but he welcomed the company. "So are you going to tell me what last night was about?" she questioned, studying him, waiting for his response.

"I'd rather not talk about it." he replied. The nightmare was still haunting him.

She turned back to look at the sunrise, not willing to give up so easily.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Don't try and change the subject Kopa. You had a habit of doing that when we were kids." she said and Kopa sighed. "I didn't hear much of what you said but I heard the pain in your voice. Whatever it was, was bad wasn't it?" she questioned trying to get an answer out of him. After believing him to be dead she wanted to re-establish a relationship with him. She wanted to know the new Kopa.

"You could say that. It was a long time ago though. I'd forced myself to forget it because it was too painful. But I'm beginning to realise you can't forget your mistakes." he revealed, for some reason finding it incredibly easy to talk to her.

"Yes but those mistakes don't define us you know. We can chose whether we want them to or not but deep down we are not our mistakes." she said, trying to cheer him up.

Her mother had been excellent at it and Timira liked to think she'd inherited that gift.

"We are if that mistake was something unforgivable." he explained, paving the way for more questions from Timira. She wasn't going to understand him though, no one possibly could.

"What did you do that was so unforgivable?" she asked, frowning.

"I don't want to burden you with it. It was a long time ago." Kopa said, refusing to tell her. "Forget I even said anything." he said, shaking his head. He went to leave and said "I'm going to hunt, the pride could do with some breakfast. If anyone asks tell them that's what I'm doing."

"Kopa, wait!" Timira said, trying to stop him but all she could do was watch as he left Pride Rock, without looking back.

She let him go, and was added to the long list of lions concerned about Kopa.

* * *

After travelling for nearly two days Kucha and his subordinate, Sikio finally arrived in the Pride Lands. They'd rested during the night but Kucha wanted to get an early start so they could be in the Pride Lands by morning. As they walked the very outskirts of the Pride Lands, Sikio took note of Pride Rock in the distance.

"There it is Kucha, not far now." Sikio said, walking beside his king.

"I'm so close to finally gaining vengeance for my son. I can already taste prince Kopa's pain and suffering." Kucha said, not taking his eyes off Pride Rock. "When I'm done prince Kopa will wish he'd never been born." he lamented.

"I hope so sire but this is still Simba's territory. It can't be known that we're here before we have a proper chance to avenge Makini." Sikio reminded him.

"I realise that but it won't affect my plan too much." Kucha replied, unfazed. The two continued on, heading in the direction of Pride Rock. "I will not rest until prince Kopa is dead at my feet." he said, imagining that very scene.

"I understand completely sire, Makini was a good friend of mine. I too wish for vengeance." Sikio agreed and the two lions journeyed on.

* * *

It was well into the morning by the time the rest of the pride woke. Kopa still hadn't returned and Timira was getting concerned. When she told Simba where he was the king didn't seem at all surprised and thanked her for the information. Everyone was still talking about the night before though, whispering amongst themselves. Simba tried to ignore it but the sound of his son's cries were still echoing in his mind. However they all had to put that aside when a young Amani noticed something.

"Who are they?" he said, noticing the approach of a small pride of lions.

"That's Tojo's pride." Kiara said, standing behind her son. "They've come to visit." she smiled and an excited Amani ran down to greet them with the rest of the pride.

"Tojo, Tama it's good to see you again." Simba said, forcing a smile.

"You too Simba." Tojo said, greeting his old friend. Soon two young female cubs came bounding over, laughing happily. "Tamu, Khali, slow down!" Tojo shouted but the girls ignored him.

"I see you've been busy." Simba chuckled as Tamu and Khali made their way over to Amani who was standing underneath Kiara. They stared at him expectantly.

"Well, say hello." Kiara encouraged.

"Hello." Amani said, stepping out from underneath Kiara.

"Hi." Tamu and Khali said in unison. "You want to play with us?"

"Sure." Amani grinned. "Can I mother?" he asked Kiara.

"Of course, have fun." she said and Amani excitedly ran off with Tamu and Khali.

"Sukari why don't you join them?" said Kula. Her shy son was keeping close to her, not leaving her side. "I'm sure Amani would like to meet you."

"Do I have to? Tamu and Khali always make fun of me." said the brown furred cub.

"Well you won't be so outnumbered with Amani." Chumvi said. "Go on, have some fun." he encouraged.

Sukari sighed but eventually left his mother's side and went to join the rest of the cubs. Amani welcomed him, finally having cubs his own age to play with.

"It was good of you to come Tojo." Simba said. "I was just-" but all of a sudden he was interrupted when he noticed Tojo's six birds flying towards them. They were being lead by a hornbill much like Zazu.

The hornbill landed and said "Well done. You six are improving in your skills." and the hornbill was female. The six birds landed and the poor things looked exhausted.

"What's that all about?" Simba asked.

"Well Binti here just happens to be my majordomo. I found her on the way back to our land after Pride Rock was re-taken. I offered her the job and she took it. She's also in charge of training the kids as well." Tojo explained.

Binti allowed the birds to rest for a while and flew over to Tojo's side, landing on his shoulder.

"She also prefers to be with me at all times encase I need her urgently." Tojo whispered with a small laugh.

Simba invited Tojo and his pride onto Pride Rock and they were greeted by the rest of Simba's pride. One lionesses caught Babu's attention. He hadn't seen her before but her dark fur made her stand out from the crowd. She couldn't be much older than him but there was definately something about her that caught his attention. Simba encouraged his friends to make themselves at home. Tama and Tojo could see the pain Simba was trying to mask, Nala too. They deduced that something was wrong and it had something to do with Kopa, because they couldn't see him anywhere.

"So Simba, where's your son this morning?" Tojo wondered.

"He's out hunting at the moment, he'll be back soon." Simba replied with a sigh.

"I know that look Simba, something's wrong with him, what is it?" Tojo asked. Simba and Nala glanced at each other their eyes filled with concern.

"The truth is we don't know." Nala revealed. "He's been having nightmares and talking in his sleep. He wakes up scared to death then he hides away and pretends nothing's wrong." she explained.

"He's refusing to tell us anything, then he spends hours away from Pride Rock and we have no idea where he is or what he's doing." Simba said, concerned.

Tojo and Tama glanced at each other feeling a slight sense of Déjà Vu. Koko has been doing the exact same thing. Maybe not as extreme but the situations were very similar.

"We've been having the same kind of problem with Koko lately." Tama said. "He's keeping to himself a lot and won't talk to anyone."

In the background Timon and Pumbaa were watching the cubs from a distance. Timon was on edge the moment he saw the four cubs altogether. Two girls and two boys was more than he wanted to handle, _ever._

"I can't believe we have to watch over these cubs." Timon said, slapping his face and dragging his hand down slowly in distaste. "Not to mention two girls."

"Come on Timon It won't be that bad." Pumbaa said.

"When has it ever been not bad?" Timon questioned his companion. "You remember all those times with Kopa and don't get me started on the trouble Kiara gave us." he sighed.

"Boo!" Khali said from behind Timon. The meerkat yelled in fright, hiding behind Pumbaa. He scowled when he saw young Khali standing there with a wide grin on her face. She was laughing along with the other cubs.

"I scared the meerkat." she laughed before running off with cubs.

Timon calmed himself down, telling himself to breath in and out.

"Pumbaa I don't think I'm going to survive this." he said, calming his beating heart.

Pumbaa grunted and rolled his eyes. Timon climbed atop him and they followed after the cubs.

* * *

As Kopa approached Pride Rock, he contemplated the many things his parents would say to him and how he would respond to them. After successfully catching an adult Wildebeest, he'd dragged the heavy creature all the way back. When he arrived he was greeted by his friend Afua, noticing the remainder of Tojo's pride as well.

"I was wondering where you were." Afua said, happy to see his friend.

"Hey Afua, It's good to see you." Kopa said dropping the wildebeest. Afua was another friend he still couldn't remember. He's had a few sketchy memories from time to time but nothing definitive.

"Here I'll help you carry this up." Afua said, dragging the Wildebeest up with Kopa.

The moment they placed it on the ground, the lionesses gathered around, tucking into the animal eagerly. Kopa noticed his parents at his side, they were sitting with Tojo and Tama. Thinking that he might as well get this out the way, he went over to them and Nala spoke first.

"That was a long hunt." Nala said. "We were concerned."

"Yeah you all seem to be lately." Kopa muttered.

Afua suddenly felt uncomfortable. He could feel how tense the atmosphere was between Kopa and his parents.

"Can you blame us after last night?" Nala replied, frowning.

"No, but last night was nothing it was just a bad dream." Kopa said. He noticed Timira off to the side and looked over at her. All she did was shake her head at him. She walked away and disappeared around the corner. "Look I know I'm making you all worry but you don't need to. I'm fine, I can deal with it on my own." he said.

"You sound exactly like Koko, Kopa." Tojo interrupted and suddenly Kopa became enraged.

"I'm nothing like him!" Kopa snapped, insulted. Shaking his head, he groaned and walked off.

Afua took one glance at the older lions before following after him, hoping he'd be able to calm him down. Following Kopa he watched as the young lion paced back and forth, irritated.

"How can he compare me to Koko, a liar and a traitor?" Kopa asked himself, frustrated.

"Well actually-" Afua begun but Kopa cut over him, not really paying much attention.

"I can't believe he even said that. What I'm going through is nothing compared to what he's going through." Kopa said again, still pacing. "My father didn't even say anything in my defence."

"I wouldn't exactly-" but Kopa cut over Afua for a second time.

"I can't seem to catch a break."

"Kopa!" Afua shouted, forcing him to stop his pacing and pay attention. "I have no idea what you're going through but comparing yourself to Koko isn't exactly helping is it?" he questioned, gesturing to Kopa's behaviour.

"You're right Afua." Kopa sighed. "I'm only doing it to distract myself I guess."

"Kopa what's going on with you?" Afua asked, noticing the tormented expression on his friends face.

"I wish I could explain it, but I can't." Kopa replied with another sigh.

* * *

For the first time in two days Rafiki's baobab tree was as peaceful as running water. Nefu's arrival has kept him busy as he desperately tried to keep his nephew out of trouble. But finally he was asleep. Rafiki watched him carefully as his moved to the other end of his tree. He didn't want to wake him or have him wake up for that matter. Grabbing a piece of fruit Rafiki sat down and bit into it, enjoying the sweet, fruity taste. Suddenly a soft wind rattled the leaves of his tree and Rafiki sensed Mufasa's presence.

"Oh Mufasa it's been a while since Rafiki has heard from you." he whispered, rejoicing at hearing from his old friend. "I guess there was a weak connection between the worlds." he shrugged taking another bite of his fruit.

The wind continued to blow but it was becoming more violent. Rafiki's eyes widened and he stopped eating the fruit.

"What was that Mufasa?" he asked.

The wind blew again and this time the fruit fell out of Rafiki's hand.

"Kopa is in danger, but how?" Rafiki questioned. He listened some more and what Mufasa revealed frightened him. "A foreign king will bring misery to the Pride Lands before killing Kopa." Rafiki was disturbed by this. "Mufasa Rafiki needs more."

The wind blew one last time, strong and violent. The wind soon stopped as Mufasa was drawn back to the other world. However he managed to pass on the last piece of his message to Rafiki.

"The king lost his son and is looking for retribution. Unless he is stopped Kopa will pay the ultimate price." Rafiki whispered, extremely concerned.

Grabbing his stick Rafiki decided to head out for Pride Rock immediately, but not before waking Nefu up and forcing him to come along. The young mandrill wasn't happy but Rafiki didn't trust him to behave when he was alone, besides this message had come with extreme importance.

* * *

After resting up and hunting a few zebra, Kucha and Sikio resumed their journey towards Pride Rock. They weren't far off now but they didn't want to get close enough to be spotted. As they walked through the grass, Kucha heard something, a voice.

"Stop and be quiet." he said to Sikio and Sikio stopped immediately keeping incredibly silent. "A lioness." he said, recognising the voice as female.

He journeyed towards the voice, ordering Sikio to follow. It wasn't long before they came across the lioness the voice belonged too. That lioness happened to be a lone Sarabi, who'd ventured from Pride Rock that morning. She was happy, lamenting about her times with Mufasa.

"If only you could be here to witness this peace Mufasa." she said smiling, unaware of the approaching danger.

"Sire, that's Sarabi, Simba's mother and Kopa's grandmother." Sikio mentioned, whispering quietly. "Apparently Kopa was quite close with her when he was young." he said, going off the information he'd gathered during his many observations of the Pride Lands some months ago.

Kucha growled and said "This might be the perfect start to my plan of vengeance."

Suddenly, Kucha revealed himself to a startled Sarabi. She stopped walking and stared at the lion before her. His pitch black mane frightened her slightly. However she stayed calm.

"Can I help you?" she wondered.

"Why as a matter of fact you can." Kucha said and all of a sudden Sarabi heard growling coming from behind her.

She turned around to see another lion approaching, Sikio. Her calm demeanor was fading.

"There's a message I need you to deliver to your grandson." Kucha said, grinning with glee. "He needs to hear every single word." and Kucha nodded at Sikio.

Sarabi had no way of preparing herself for what was to come.

* * *

**Finally got chapter three up after 2 months! I didn't think it would take me that long but I got there in the end. Life has been hectic and I'm busy studying for Uni exams this week and next week, so of course I had to focus on that. But as some of you may no, I've also been helping Asante out with his fanfiction _The Fall of Man. _So I'm juggling two at the moment but I will try and get chapters done for this story ASAP. Things are starting to heat up now so stay tuned for Chapter 4!**

**Dreaming18 :)**


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